Virtual travel system, virtual gathering system, and communication terminal

Abstract

A virtual travel service system accepts a boarding request for a virtual passenger airplane, which is an example of a virtual vehicle, from a user's communication terminal before the departure time of the virtual passenger airplane and registers the user as a passenger of the virtual passenger airplane. A common boarding experience is provided to a plurality of passengers on the virtual passenger airplane.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A virtual travel system, comprising:
 a boarding request reception unit that accepts a boarding request for a vehicle from a communication terminal of a user prior to the departure time of the vehicle;   a boarding processing unit that registers the user who has sent a boarding request for the vehicle as a passenger of the vehicle; and   a boarding experience provision unit that provides a common boarding experience to a plurality of passengers of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a conversation processing unit that relays conversations among passengers to a plurality of communication terminals owned by the plurality of passengers, wherein   the conversation processing unit relays a conversation between a first passenger and a second passenger in the interior space of the vehicle on the condition that the distance between a first avatar corresponding to the first passenger and a second avatar corresponding to the second passenger is within a predetermined range in the virtual space.   
     
     
         3 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 1 , wherein the boarding experience provision unit displays an attendant character corresponding to a cabin attendant in the virtual space representing the interior space of the vehicle, and provides services to the plurality of passengers by the attendant character. 
     
     
         4 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 3 , wherein the boarding experience provision unit displays an avatar that is a character corresponding to a passenger in a virtual space representing the interior space of the vehicle, and provides a commemorative photo service from the attendant character to the avatar. 
     
     
         5 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a payment processing unit that executes the payment processing, wherein   the boarding experience provision unit displays an attendant character in the interior space of the vehicle, and   when a passenger selects one of the items presented for purchase by the attendant character, the payment processing unit executes the payment for the purchase of the item.   
     
     
         6 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the boarding experience provision unit causes the attendant character to hold a game in the interior space of the vehicle in which a plurality of passengers can participate, and   the payment processing unit instructs the delivery of a prize preliminarily associated with the game to the registered address of the passenger who is the winner of the game.   
     
     
         7 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the vehicle is a virtual passenger airplane,   the virtual travel system further comprises a mileage management unit that awards mileage points to passengers of the virtual passenger airplane and manages the mileage points for each user, and   the mileage management unit provides rewards to the user based on the mileage points.   
     
     
         8 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the vehicle is a virtual passenger airplane, the virtual travel system further comprises:   an airport experience provision unit that transmits an image of a virtual space representing the premises of the destination airport to the communication terminals of the plurality of passengers when the scheduled arrival time of the virtual passenger airplane is reached; and   a payment processing unit that, when a user instructs to purchase an item object at a virtual store in the premises of the airport, executes a payment process of the user for an item corresponding to the item object, wherein   when executing the payment process for the item, the payment processing unit instructs a store terminal associated with the virtual store to deliver the item to the user who purchased the item.   
     
     
         9 . The virtual travel system according to  claim 8 , further comprising a tourist experience provision unit that transmits an image of a virtual space representing a tourist spot that is preliminarily associated with an airport that is the destination, to a communication terminal of a user who has selected the tourist spot. 
     
     
         10 . A communication terminal, comprising:
 an input unit that accepts a boarding procedure on the condition that the boarding procedure is performed prior to the departure time of the virtual passenger airplane from the user;   a transmission unit that transmits a boarding request together with a user ID to an external airline management server when the boarding procedure is accepted;   a reception unit that receives an image of a virtual space representing the cabin of the virtual passenger airplane after receiving boarding permission for the virtual passenger airplane from the airline management server; and   a display unit for displaying the image of the virtual space image on a screen, wherein   the display unit displays an avatar, which is a character corresponding to another user who has completed a boarding procedure for the virtual passenger airplane, in the cabin of the virtual passenger airplane.   
     
     
         11 . A virtual gathering system, comprising:
 a participation request reception unit that refers to a predetermined schedule for a virtual gathering, which is a gathering in a virtual space, and receives a participation request for the virtual gathering from a communication terminal of a user;   a registration processing unit that registers a user who has made a participation request for the virtual gathering as a participant of the virtual gathering; and   a gathering experience provision unit that provides a common gathering experience to a plurality of participants of the virtual gathering, wherein   the registration processing unit registers the user as a participant of the virtual gathering on the condition that the avatar that is a character corresponding to the user satisfies predetermined eligibility for participation in the virtual gathering.   
     
     
         12 . The virtual gathering system according to  claim 11 , further comprising a conversation processing unit that relays conversations among participants to a plurality of communication terminals owned by the plurality of participants. 
     
     
         13 . The virtual gathering system according to  claim 12 , wherein
 the conversation processing unit relays the conversation between a first user and a second user on the condition that the distance between the avatar of the first user and the avatar of the second user is within a predetermined range in the virtual space where the virtual gathering is held.   
     
     
         14 . The virtual gathering system according to  claim 11 , wherein the registration processing unit registers the user as a participant of the virtual gathering on the condition that the avatar corresponding to the user is wearing a prescribed adornment. 
     
     
         15 . The virtual gathering system according to  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a holding request reception unit that receives a request to hold a virtual gathering from an organizer of a virtual gathering, the request including the holding date and time of the virtual gathering and a designated item, and   a designated item processing unit that notifies a user's communication terminal of an avatar's adornment that is the designated item for the virtual gathering and grants the designated item to the user by receiving an instruction from the user to acquire the designated item.   
     
     
         16 . The virtual gathering system according to  claim 12 , wherein
 the virtual gathering is held parallelly and simultaneously with a schedule of a real gathering, which is a gathering in a real space, and   the conversation processing unit relays the voice of the participant of the real gathering to the communication terminal of each participant of the virtual gathering and relays the voice of the participant of the virtual gathering to the venue of the real gathering or the viewing devices owned by the participants of the real gathering.   
     
     
         17 . A communication terminal, comprising:
 a gathering event details reception unit that receives event details of a virtual gathering including a holding date and time of the virtual gathering and a designated item;   a wearing instruction input unit that accepts a wearing instruction for an avatar owned by a user to wear an adornment as a designated item;   a participation instruction input unit that accepts a request for participation in the virtual gathering;   a transmission unit that, when the participation request is accepted, transmits the participation request together with a user ID to an external gathering server;   an image reception unit that, after receiving participation permission for the virtual gathering from the gathering server, receives an image of a virtual space representing the venue of the virtual gathering; and   a display unit that displays an image of the virtual space on a screen, wherein   the display unit displays an avatar wearing the designated item corresponding to another user in the venue of the virtual gathering.